1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a dental syringe tip, and more particularly to a dental syringe tip requiring less operator force to dispense the material therefrom.
2. Description of the Related Art
Dental syringe tips are typically purchased as capsules filled with a desired dental material such as an amalgam, etc. The syringe tip is inserted into a dental syringe; and upon the syringe being activated by an operator, a syringe plunger pushes a plug through an internal passage in the syringe tip thereby dispensing the dental material therefrom.
Since a dental syringe tip is held and operated in a hand held dental delivery gun by a dentist, it is desirable to minimize the forces required to dispense the material from the syringe tip, thereby improving control of the dental therapy. This feature is more important as formulated dental materials become more viscous. Further, it is desirable that the maximum amount of dental material pre-packaged in the syringe tip be dispensed, thereby minimizing material waste.
Known dental syringe tip designs may utilize a flat surface on the front, or forward, end of the plug contacting the dental material. That plug design provides an efficient longitudinal transfer of force from the operator to the dental material. However, since most dental syringe tips discharge the dental material through a tapered or narrow nozzle, a plug with a flat front end leaves undispensed dental material in the nozzle and other noncylindrical sections of the syringe tip located forwardly of the plug, thereby wasting that material.
To overcome that disadvantage, the front end of the plug may be formed into a conical, hemispherical or other shape that matches the interior geometry of the forward end of the syringe tip. Those shapes generally have rearwardly outwardly extending surfaces oblique to the longitudinal axis of the plug. Such plug designs will dispense more dental material than a plug with a flat front end. However, the oblique surfaces squeeze dental material between those surfaces and the mating surface inside the syringe tip thereby creating a greater reactive, or resistance, forces in a nonlongitudinal directions. Those nonlongitudinal forces increase the force required to push the dental material longitudinally through the syringe tip, thereby increasing the operator force required to dispense the material.